Net neutrality is money based. Look at a fast food franchise only selling one company’s brand of soda. As an example the author uses the interstate that has a fast lane for G.M. cars only. The author feels this would lead to people buying GM cars just to get into the fast lane, regardless of the cars quality; automakers would then try to make deals with highways.
A point I think he missed is that all the large franchises are the only option you have on state highways; you will not find a mom and pop store selling food on state highways. The largest corporations are the only ones. There prices are always higher than what you would pay in your neighborhood. The use of AT&T and Verizon as an example of Network Neutrality touches a nerve in many people. At one time these companies were part of the Bell system. At that time when they were one, you had a company that had virtually no competition. They restricted the amount of phones you had in your house and could only use their equipment.
These companies’ names may have changed but their goals have not and that goal is to make as much money as possible. If network neutrality means more money for the Bells it will happen, if it doesn’t they will do all they can do to stop it. Another example I have encountered is on Facebook, the social networking site. You have major corporations pushing the products, “Farmville” a game on Facebook where you are on a farm growing crops. By engaging in this game you are a vassal to the feudal lords, the advertisers, so they can make money. It is not about neutrality it is about using every idea that these corporations can find to use the internet to sell versus a product.
As long as there are advertisements and money to be made I really believe the network neutrality is just a dream. Payola still goes on but in ways that skirt the laws to prevent radio and record companies from running afoul of the law. Even as I read this piece by Tom Wu I am bombarded with advertisements, which used to get me to buy something that is network neutrality. If you have the cash the internet is neutralized. You can buy cars, sex, drugs and anything your heart desires. That is network neutrality.
Network Neutrality
Canvas Art Direct – Pop Art Canvas Paintings and Prints
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via Canvas Art Direct – Pop Art Canvas Paintings and Prints.
Zz Benjamin buttons artwork
Benjamin s essay “the Work of Art,” brings up key concepts on how art is transformed and replicated. one key concept Benjamin brings up is the idea of an aura. the aura pertains to the feelings, emotions, and vibes of an art piece. once a piece of art is reproduced the original aura is lost and transformed into a new aura. Benjamin states, “a reproduction work of art is lacking in one element-presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be” (pg2). This explains that at that certain moment when the artwork is being created an aura is also being formed. reproduction cannot mimic the “unique existence” of when that masterpiece came about. this also diminishes the value of the original and destroys the aura. a new aura is thus created but the aura tied to its original presence cannot be replicated.
Back in the stone ages elk were drawn on caves and was considered to be an “instrument of magic, but in the main meant for the spirits”(pg3). there are two types of art that are received and valued; cult value and exhibition value. the cult value means “ritual” and to be kept in secret. the act of creation is meant for people not to see. whereas the exhibition value changes when people view it. A cult value is different because the aura is maintained in the artwork opposed to the exhibition value which is viewed by people so therefore there is a greater chance for it to be reproduced.
Benjamin brings up lithography, which is the “tracing of the design on a stone”(pg2). Photography is like a reproduction of lithography. Their both types of art forms yet the reproduction of the concepts are different. Machinenma is the making of 3D films based on video games. This is another example of how an art form is replicated. The player of the game experiences the actual game play and thus gets influenced and creates a new art form a 3D virtual environment. The aura of the video game is destroyed yet in turn a new aura is established. An aura can not only form through video games, photography and art sculptures but through live performances as well.
A stage actor differs from a camera actor by the way an audience views it. on stage the actor adjusts to the audience whereas the film actor lacks that opportunity. The camera continually changes angles accordingly to the actor, for example ”close-ups, camera angles and camera movements.” The setting of a camera actor permits the audience to act like a critic without the personal experience. “Singularity of the shot in studio is that the camera is substituted for the public, the aura envelops the actor and vanishes with it the aura of the figure he portrays” (pg 8). Because the audience is viewing the actor through a lens no aura is established. However if you view a stage actor an aura can be maintained.
Benjamins main argument is that “a work of art has always been reproducible” (pg1). He feels that when art is reproduced and transformed that the chain of events and the context changes. Not only does the aura get destroyed but the meaning of the art changes. once the art is created into a new piece the authenticity diminishes. in this time frame we live in the aura of various artwork is constantly destroyed and rebuilt.
